No Time to Waste
by australia831
Summary: This is a continuation of my other story, The Timeturner and The TARDIS, which I wrote about 2 years ago. The Doctor returns to Hogwarts with a completely different face, a damaged TARDIS, and a mission to come back for little Amelia Pond. But there's an inevitable price that can't be rewritten, fixed in time. Can Hermione and the Doctor figure it out before it's too late?
1. Prologue

Falling. That's all the Doctor knew. Everything was plummeting, crashing around in the TARDIS, a racket in his ears. He stumbled and fell back, hitting the railing with a thud. Yet another wave of pain crashed over him, nearly sending him to his knees. After many regenerations, one would think the agony wouldn't be so...well...so much agony.

But it was.

New face, new skin, new fingers, legs. Still got legs. The Doctor shakily pulled a tuft of hair in front of his face. Not ginger yet, though.

As cords fizzed and the control panel sent sparks flying across the room, the Doctor grabbed at levers, pulling handles and turning knobs. Whoever he was, he was a horrible pilot.

Throughout his dizzy, rearranged mind, he could remember one thing, and grasped it like a lifeline. He would follow this memory, and he would figure out how to fly this infernal machine, and he would somehow–somehow–understand the years of strange events spinning across his thoughts, all the glimpses of places and times and people, enemies and friends, though he didn't know which was which.

Except one.

And he followed it. And he drove the TARDIS toward Earth.

* * *

><p>Two years later, near Hagrid's hut, Hermione was reading from her pamphlet on the Secrets of Divination, scribbling down notes on a separate piece of parchment, when she heard a sound. A vaguely familiar whirring, something from the back of her mind. But it filled her with hope, this sound. And before she knew it, she was on her feet.<p>

Across the lawn, she could just barely make out a shape. It blinked into existence, faded away, then reformed, shockingly blue against the light colors of spring. A light atop the box shone like a star, then became dull. The whirring stopped.

And she ran. Her memory was coming back to her now, flooding back and filling her senses with happiness, nostalgia, adventure, and excitement, all in one repeating, retrieved thought.

_Doctor._

**_GUYS. I'm BACK. AFTER, LIKE, A BAJILLION YEARS._ **

**Ok, I've been **

**1) really busy with writing my own stuff**

**2) busy with more stuff like homework**

**3) procrastinating**

**4) trying to think of how the heck I'm gonna continue this gosh darn thing (and my other Hetalia story which deserves a sequel)**

**I'm a much better writer now, so YAY. But I don't know how often I'll be able to post. Hopefully often. Thank you guys for reading, and I can't apologize enough for disappearing off the map for a while, but I'm back, and better than ever, baby!**

**Feel free to leave any questions or ideas for how the story should go in the comments, and thanks again! Here we goooooo! **


	2. Apples are Rubbish

Hermione slowed as she neared the TARDIS, coming to a stop just as the door swung inward. Out stepped a man. A different man. Not the Doctor. Hermione's grin dropped and her eyes widened. She crossed her arms. "Who are you?"

The man swung around, first his head to take a glance at her, then the rest of him, as if it was too difficult to move every joint at once. He squinted at her, hands on his knees, wobbling back and forth. Then he stood back up so quickly that he placed a hand on the TARDIS's wooden wall to keep from pitching over. "I think...I think I'm the Doctor." He stared at the Forbidden Forest. Then he looked back at Hermione, the same strange expression on his face as if he were looking to her for confirmation.

"No you're not. The Doctor looks different. He has darker hair and an older face and…" Hermione trailed off, looking the man up and down. He was tall, lean, and young, and a complete stranger. And yet, something about him _was _familiar. Was it the peculiar way he held himself, like he was always examining something, curious? Was it how he looked so young but his eyes were so old and wise? And still, how could he be the Doctor? There was no doubt that he was a different person.

The man shoved his hands deep in his pockets–another familiar quirk–and shrugged. "But I am." He suddenly looked sad. "I know now. I am." He let out a breath through his nose. "Do you remember when I told you I could regenerate, Hermione?"

Hermione subconsciously took a step back when the man said her name. But she considered what he said, being practical. Something about regenerations did seem vaguely familiar. "Of course I remember. But why do you look so different, then? Unless you were hurt that badly."

The man was nodding. "Yes, I was hurt. And if I didn't change my entire body, well," he threw out his arms in a huge shrug, "that wouldn't have been good. Do you still have your timeturner?"

Before she knew it, Hermione had slung her arms around the man–no, the _Doctor_. Her Doctor. His arms wrapped around her only a second later, his hesitation due to surprise. The Doctor's new coat was a rough, sturdy jacket, and one that absorbed tears surprisingly well. Not that Hermione cried. A bit of water simply slipped out. That was all. After two years, that was all.

The Doctor gave her a pat on the back before releasing and saying, "So. What's gone on in these past...days? Months?"

"Years, actually. Two of them."

"Two years! Sorry about that." He ruffed up the back of his new head of hair with a quick scratch. "I was pretty busy."

"I'm not surprised. Here, come inside." Hermione nodded to Hogwarts. "We can talk there."

"I dunno if that's such a great idea."

"Why?"

"First of all, I'm not a wizard. I'm also a stranger. I could be anyone."

"Hagrid's hut then?" At the Doctor's confused look, Hermione pointed to the little hut, smoke puffing steadily from the chimney of the cozy, curved roof.

"Sure. I'll be there in a moment."

"Right. I'll tell Hagrid you're coming." Hermione turned and jogged away, towards the hut.

The Doctor watched her for a moment, then a childlike grin popped onto his lips and he slid back into the TARDIS to make sure nothing would explode again. After his crash land at that strange girl's house, he wasn't sure how his TARDIS would recover. Or how his taste buds would recover from that apple. Rubbish, apples are.

As soon as he fixed everything, he would return to Amelia Pond and show her the stars. He wouldn't leave her all alone. He couldn't.

**Warning: these chapters are going to be short. They just are. I can't update regularly as it is, so to leave you guys hanging for weeks at a time just to finish longer chapters doesn't seem fair. So they'll be about this size unless there's a weird one. **

**ALSO: guys, this story is for you. If you have any suggestions on how you want it to go, PLEASE leave a comment. I will consider every single suggestion. If I use something from one of you, I'll mention you.**

**Thanks and see ya later!**


	3. Draco's Father Will Hear About This

The Doctor knocked on the rough wooden door of Hagrid's hut. Hermione opened it right away and pulled the Doctor inside, shutting the door behind him.

"Doctor, I'd like for you to meet Hagrid," Hermione said, gesturing. "Hagrid, this is the Doctor."

Hagrid extended a bulky hand. "Nice to meet ya, sir."

The Doctor took it and shook it. "You too. Lovely home, by the way, absolutely lovely."

"Oh, why, thank ya." Hagrid smiled wide. "Make yerself comfortable, then."

Hermione and the Doctor sat at Hagrid's extra-large table while Hagrid went into the other room to see if he had any biscuits or homemade snacks.

Although Hermione couldn't have been happier to see her old friend, she needed to ask the one thing on her mind. "Doctor, why did you have to regenerate?"

The Doctor's smile faltered. "Oh, that's nothing we should talk about. We should be catching up on other things like, what, personal victories and the weather."

Hermione pressed her lips together, silent, searching the Doctor's eyes for a clue. But they were so deep, so full of secrets. She couldn't find anything salvageable there.

"Anyway," the Doctor continued, "before I came here, I crash-landed at a young girl's house. And it just so happens that the TARDIS isn't functioning properly, so I need your help to get back to her."

"To get back to her? Who is she?"

"Well, her name is Amelia Pond, and she's all alone, just a child…"

"Wait." Pond. That name was so very familiar. _Pond. _When did she know someone of that name? It wasn't the name of a friend, nor an enemy. Then who was it from?

From the past. Amelia Pond was the woman from the past.

Apparently, the Doctor crash-landed in the early 1900s. That was the only explanation for why the woman would have been a child.

"Wait, what, what is it?" asked the Doctor.

Hermione shook her head. "Nevermind. And of course I'll help. What did you have in mind?"

"Well I need something to kickstart the TARDIS, similar to an energy boost. If we can use the timeturner on the TARDIS, then it might re-calibrate and fix itself."

"Use the timeturner on the entire TARDIS? I'm not sure that'll work. But maybe Dumbledore can help."

"Dumbledore? Who's that?"

"He's the headmaster of the school," said Hermione. "We can find him in his office."

"Perfect! Let's go then." The Doctor stood and charged out the door, just as Hagrid came back with a tray of snacks.

Hermione shot him an apologetic glance as she walked after the Doctor. "Sorry, thanks Hagrid." She jogged after the Doctor, who was almost halfway to the castle. When she reached him, she said, "Follow me as quickly as you can. I don't think anyone would take kindly to a strange man in Hogwarts, especially nowadays."

"What's nowadays?"

"Everyone's terrified of another attack from Voldemort, the community is becoming darker and corrupted, and there is always more to fear."

"Ah."

Hermione slipped through the doors on the side of the castle and into the main halls. "Try not to look suspicious," she whispered, peering around the corner. Once a group of chatty students had passed, Hermione and the Doctor strode down the halls, only getting a few curious looks from kids lounging nearby.

They had nearly reach the hall that led to Dumbledore's office when Hermione saw the worst group of students they could have possibly run into flouncing toward them. As they got closer, they peeled their attentions off of themselves and directed their stares to Hermione and the Doctor.

"Who's this, Granger?" Draco asked, the sides of his mouth curling up into a sneer. "Is this your new boyfriend? He's a little old for you, but not as old as your other crush, Lockhart."

His followers oohed and covered their grins with their palms, elbowing one another.

"He's none of your business, Malfoy," Hermione said, her face turning bright red.

Draco turned to the Doctor. "What's your name?"

"John Smith. I have some business with your headmaster, so if you'd step aside, please."

Draco didn't move. "What business? Are you from the Ministry?"

"Sure."

"What Department?"

"A really, really specific one that you probably haven't heard of, so," he clasped his hands together, "nice to meet you." He tugged Hermione past them and walked quickly to the end of the hall.

"I hope for your sake you're telling the truth, Smith," Draco called. "My father will hear about this."

"I'd hoped we wouldn't run into that group," said Hermione as she turned the last corner.

"They don't seem very friendly," said the Doctor. "Who's his father?"

"No one you'd want to meet."

They took the hidden moving staircase up to Dumbledore's office, at which the Doctor marveled, pointing and scanning it with his screwdriver once they'd reached the top. Hermione elbowed him as Dumbledore came over to meet them.

Dumbledore nodded. "Miss Granger, what may I help you with? And, who is this, if I may ask?"

"This is John Smith, professor. Or, rather, the Doctor. He's the one that helped me with Randolph Skern two years ago."

"Oh, yes, I recall you telling me about him," said Dumbledore. "Not of this world, if I remember correctly." He met the Doctor's eyes. "You certainly look human enough. But as we all know, looks can be deceiving."

A dark-colored cat appeared near Dumbledore's feet and sat down, eyeing the visitor.

"It's alright, Minerva," Dumbledore told the cat. "He helped Miss Granger a while back."

The cat wasn't deterred.

"Professor," Hermione said, "the Doctor needs help with his...ship. Is there any way that a timeturner could be used on such a thing?"

"Not that I could think of. But," he rose a finger, "there is something. It's called a timescratcher. It is much more powerful than a timeturner. But be warned, Hermione, Doctor, it can be damaging."

"Damaging how?" asked the Doctor.

"I've never used one, so I can't tell you with utmost certainty."

"Where can we find it?" Hermione asked.

"The only one I know of is being held by the Ministry of Magic. So, please, be careful. For everyone's sake."

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything except Randolph Skern and the timescratcher (at least so far).**

**I hope you guys are enjoying! P.S. I love reviews, even if they're saying I could change something to make the story even better, because I want to make it the best I can for you guys. **

**Happyalmost2015.**


	4. It's a Small Ministry After All

The Doctor had never apparated before. When Hermione took his arm, he didn't know what to expect. All he knew was that it was a sort of displacement, like teleportation. And before they vanished from Hogwarts, he was actually excited.

That excitement disappeared with them.

They jolted, feeling as if they were being turned inside out, and that their bones were twisting. They were stretched in every direction all at once, churning and hurtling through space. And then they stopped.

Hermione snatched the Doctor's arm before he could pitch over onto the sidewalk. The Doctor felt as if he had just undergone a slightly less painful regeneration, and he was once again someone knew. He caught his breath, looked around, and, upon seeing where he was, smiled.

"That was incredible," he breathed, turning to look at the busy city streets and sidewalks, cars rattling past without a care. He ran a hand through his hair, making it stick up like the quills on a porcupine. "Ha! Amazing!"

"Doctor, careful not to attract attention," urged Hermione.

"Oh, right, sorry." The Doctor stopped spinning. "Where do we go from here?"

Hermione nodded to a red phone box set up against a crumbling brick building. "There."

"Is is bigger on the inside?" The Doctor asked.

Hermione smiled. "I bet you wish it was."

They crammed themselves into the phone box, which was, if anything, smaller on the inside than it had appeared. Hermione put a few coins in and punched in the entry code. After a few seconds, the box jolted, and began descending. The light of the day disappeared, replaced with black, thick concrete walls on either side, as if they were going down into a mine shaft. Seconds later, the box emerged into a cavernous place filled with bustling witches and wizards, all dressed in colorful robes, carrying boxes, papers, cages, briefcases, or newspapers, The walls and floor were polished and shone underneath the boot-clad feet of the workers. The walls irregularly jutted out, forming fireplaces in which, in puffs of green flame, more workers appeared and joined the uneven flow of the Ministry.

As Hermione and the Doctor landed, the doors of the phone box swung open and they tumbled out. Hermione fit in, wearing her school robes, but the Doctor, no longer having a trench coat, sported a simple jacket and bowtie, which separated him from the crowd of flowing garb.

Hermione dragged the awed timelord to the nearest elevator where they stood next to several other wizards. Paper planes flew in, just as the doors closed, and circled the ceiling. The Doctor, who hadn't expected the elevator to move backward, tripped forward at the first jolt, and would have fell had he not been holding the ring hanging from the ceiling. After he steadied himself, he sent a charming smile at the other wizards, who looked at him with suspicion.

At the correct Department, Hermione dragged the Doctor out and they began to walk down the long, straight corridor.

"Sorry," said Hermione. "I forgot to warn you about the elevator."

"That's alright," the Doctor replied. "You can't possibly remember to warn me of everything before it happens."

They continued down the hall until they found a door plaque which read 'Advisor of Magical Objects of Time'. Hermione knocked on the door. The door swung open, revealing a round woman with polkadotted fingernails and a beehive hairdo. The small, rectangular name plate on her desk revealed that she was called Miss Hundsbee. Miss Hundsbee had hardly glanced up from her papers when she beckoned for them to come in.

Hermione shut the door behind her. "Excuse me, ma'am, but I am taking...History of Magical Objects and my project calls for me to examine a timescratcher. May I see one, please?"

Miss Hundsbee looked up at 'timescratcher'. "Oh, dear, timescratchers are very dangerous."

"But I have my professor here." Hermione glanced at the Doctor. "His name is Mr. Smith. He is a frequent handler of dangerous magical objects such as timescratchers."

Miss Hundsbee raised a drawn-on eyebrow. "Is this true?"

The Doctor nodded. "It is."

"I'll need to see proof of that, Mr. Smith."

Hermione's mouth was as dry as sandpaper. She didn't know a spell that could do such a thing. But much to her surprise, the Doctor pulled out a black-lined blank piece of paper about the size of a license. He showed it to her. Hermione's jaw nearly dropped when the woman nodded.

"I'll be right back," said Miss Hundsbee. She waddled out the doorway.

Hermione faced the Doctor. "What was that!"

"Oh, just something that shows people what I want them to see."

"She saw that you were a registered handler of magical objects?"

"Yup."

"Brilliant," she said. "Once we get the timescratcher, let's get out of here as quickly as possible."

The Doctor nodded.

A few minutes later, Miss Hundsbee returned with a blanketed box. She shut the door, then placed the box on her desk. She removed the blanket, revealing an intricately carved box, emerald with accents of gold. "The timescratcher is inside the box." She recovered it with the blanket, then handed the Doctor a green key that looked as if it was made of marble. "Return it within three days."

"Thank you very much," said Hermione.

"Yes, thanks," said the Doctor.

Miss Hundsbee nodded and ushered them out before returning her gaze to her paperwork.

Once they'd closed the door to the office, the Doctor, who was carrying the box, said, "Let's go. I don't want her changing her mind."

They headed back down the hall and called for the elevator.

"So, I have been wondering," said the Doctor, "who is that boy's father?"

"He actually works here," said Hermione. "But we mustn't run into him, or it'd be trouble for us."

"Why?"

Hermione lowered her voice and looked around, "He isn't good news. We think he might be on the side of Voldemort. Besides, he will always go out of the way to make sure that the allies of Dumbledore don't get their way."

"What's his name?"

The elevator doors opened, and they stepped in.

Hermione said, "His name is-."

"Well, hello Miss Granger," came a raspy voice, cold with terrible familiarity.

Hermione froze. Standing next to her, the only other person in the elevator other than the Doctor, was the very person she's hoped to avoid.

Lucius Malfoy.

**A/N: I'm finally back with the next chapter! Sorry about the delay, I had lots of Finals to do and study for, but I finally finished them a few days ago. Thanks to all who are reading this story, I appreciate you giving your time to find out what happens. I make this story for you guys.**

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**See you guys in the next chapter!**


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